The invention relates to an LED lamp. The invention focuses in particular on so-called retrofit LED lamps which are designed as a replacement for halogen lamps or incandescent lamps.
LED lamps are being used more and more often for lighting purposes. Said LED lamps are characterized by their high light efficiency and their long life. Furthermore, they can be used very flexibly owing to their extremely small dimensions. LEDs are usually produced as LED modules. Conceivable here are LED modules comprising at least one blue LED which produces white light by means of wavelength conversion means arranged on the LED. Any desired colors can be produced by means of RGB LED modules, with it being possible to implement adjustment and dimming via PWM driving of the individual color channels.
Particularly preferably, LED lamps in the form of so-called retrofit LED lamps are used. In this case, the LED lamp is designed in terms of its mechanical and electrical connections to replace existing light-emitting means (incandescent bulb, halogen, . . . ). In order to match the supply current, the retrofit LED lamp also generally has a dedicated driver circuit, which matches the supply current to the operating conditions of the LEDs on the basis of, for example, a system voltage supplied via the base. Thus, the retrofit LED lamps, in the same way as conventional incandescent bulbs, can be screwed into conventional lampholders and operated by means of the supplied system current.
However, in the case of LEDs there is the problem that the LED chips and/or their driver circuit generate heat during operation which can result, inter alia, in undesired changes in the emitted color spectrum and in a shorter life. Correspondingly, it is important to provide effective cooling of the LED. Cooling is also advantageous for reliable operation of the driver circuit for the LED. Owing to the use of LEDs in retrofit LED lamps, however, space is very limited, and therefore it is not possible to use large and therefore powerful cooling systems. Therefore, it is even more critical to use a particularly efficient cooling system which can be used in a small space and can nevertheless dissipate a very large amount of heat.